| WEEKEND STREAMING GUIDE (all times ET) |
| Men's Basketball |
| Saturday / 4 p.m. / at Rutgers / BTN |
| Women's Basketball |
| Sunday / 2 p.m. / at Illinois / BTN |
| Men's Tennis |
| Saturday / Noon / Toledo / PurdueSports.com |
| Track & Field |
| Saturday / 10 a.m. / Rod McCravy Invitational / SEC Network+ |
| Wrestling |
| Friday / 7 p.m. / Michigan State / BTN Plus |
| Sunday / 1 p.m. / at Indiana / BTN Plus |
By Tom Schott
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Mackey magic.
During the month of January, men's and women's basketball were a perfect 8-0 at Mackey Arena - all against Big Ten opponents. The men went 5-0, winning by an average of 16.6 points per game, while the women were 3-0, with average victory margin of 10.7 points.
Overall for the season, the men boast a 14-0 homecourt record - part of a 21-game winning streak at Mackey - and the women have a 10-2 mark.
Meanwhile, women's basketball helped raise more than $3,500 for local cancer patients with its Hammer Down Cancer game-worn jersey auction Jan. 28, and men's basketball fans donated some 4,000 pounds (two tons) of canned goods as part of Purdue's Rocky Night poster giveaway Jan. 31.
Women's Basketball Record Shooting, Amazing Comeback
In its 88-73 win over Penn State on Jan. 28 at Mackey Arena, women's basketball set a school record by shooting a sizzling 73.5 percent from the field. The Boilermakers made 36 of their 49 field goal attempts.
It is the second-best mark in Big Ten history and the best in a conference game. Moreover, no team in the country has been more accurate in nearly eight years, since Wyoming shot 75.5 percent against Air Force on Jan. 30, 2010.
On Thursday at No. 13 Michigan, the Boilermakers pulled off the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in school history, scoring the last 16 points in 6:48 to force overtime and then earning an 81-79 victory. Sophomore guard Dominique Oden equaled her career high with 26 points, including the game-tying shot with one second left in regulation, and freshman guard Karissa McLaughlin had a season-high-tying 21 points, including a pair of three-pointers in overtime to give Purdue its third win over a ranked opponent this season.
The Boilermakers (15-8, 6-3 B1G) play at Illinois (9-15, 0-10) on Sunday.
Men's Basketball Streaks and Such
At 11-0, men's basketball is off to the best Big Ten start in school history. The Boilermakers are merely the third Big Ten team in the last 20 years to start 11-0 in conference play (2010-11 Ohio State - 11-0; 2004-05 Illinois - 15-0).
The Boilermakers' school-record 18-game winning streak is the 12th-longest in Big Ten history and the longest currently in the country. Purdue also has won a school-record 13 straight conference games.
Senior forward Vincent Edwards was named Big Ten Player of the Week after averaging 24.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in wins over No. 25 Michigan at home Jan. 25 (92-88) and at Indiana on Jan. 28 (74-67). He shot 61.5 percent from the field (16 of 26) and 82.4 percent from the free throw line (14 of 17). Edwards scored a career-high 30 points against Michigan. He needs three points to reach 1,500 for his career.
The No. 3 Boilermakers (21-2, 11-0 B1G) play at Rutgers (12-11, 2-8) on Saturday before a showdown with No. 17 Ohio State (19-5, 10-1) on Feb. 7 at Mackey Arena.
Wrestling Hosts Michigan State, Travels to Indiana
No. 24 wrestling (6-6, 0-5 B1G) plays host to Michigan State (5-7, 1-5) on Friday at 7 p.m. ET at Holloway Gymnasium and travels to Indiana (6-7, 0-6) for a Sunday afternoon dual.
Tonight is the Boilermakers' Hammer Down Cancer dual, and 11 team singlets will be auctioned, with proceeds benefiting the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research. In addition, the team will sign autographs afterwards. Admission is free.
On Sunday, one point in the Governor's Cup will be on the line. The Boilermakers currently lead the all-sports competition with the Hoosiers by a 4.5 to 4.0 margin. Wrestling has won the last seven meetings against Indiana.
Miller Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week
For recording the second-fastest time in the country in the 600-meter run, redshirt freshman Samara Miller earned Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week honors.
Miller won the event at the Fred Wilt Open on Jan. 27 with a time of 1:30.37 on Purdue's 200-meter flat track. That clocking ranks second in school history. The time converts to 1:29.28 on a banked track, which is nearly a second faster than the school record of 1:30.24.
Miller's story about how she became a track athlete is moving. Read it here.
Both the men's and women's track & field teams compete at the Rod McCravy Invitational in Lexington, Kentucky, on Saturday.
Swimming & Diving Achieve Academic Excellence
Both swimming & diving teams earned Scholar All-America honors for excelling in the classroom and raising their team grade-point averages during the 2017 fall semester.
The women were commended for a 3.43 team GPA, up from 3.32 in the fall of 2016 and 3.35 in the spring of 2017. They ranked tied for fifth in the Big Ten, less than a tenth of a point behind the conference-leaders.
The Purdue men ranked second in the Big Ten with a 3.32 team GPA last fall. Their GPA made a big jump from a 3.13 in the fall of 2016 and 3.18 in the spring of 2017.
The Boilermakers closed out their dual meet schedules Jan. 26 and 27 and are continuing preparation for the Big Ten Championships. The women's meet is Feb. 14 to 17 in Columbus, Ohio, followed by the men's meet Feb. 21 to 24 in Minneapolis.
Women's swimming & diving is ranked No. 23 in this week's national poll.
King Extends Super Bowl Streak
Former Purdue offensive guard Jason King (2013-16) is a member of the New England Patriots, who are taking on the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII on Sunday.
Purdue has had a player involved in 19 consecutive Super Bowls and 34 of 52 all-time. A Boilermaker has been on the winning team 14 times in the last 18 years.
King originally signed with New England as a rookie free agent May 5, 2017. He was signed to the practice squad Dec. 5.
Etcetera
The football spring game will be April 7 at Ross-Ade Stadium ... Men's tennis (2-4) plays host to Toledo (1-3) on Saturday at noon ET at the Schwartz Tennis Center ... Women's tennis (4-1) plays at Washington State (5-0) on Saturday ... Women's basketball will play in the 2018 Paradise Jam tournament, which is scheduled for Nov. 22 to 24 in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands ... Guests on this week's Purdue Athletics Podcast are men's basketball redshirt freshman Matt Haarms and women's basketball freshman Karissa McLaughlin.